First United Methodist Church will hold its annual Fall Fling this weekend.
Two days of auctions, dinners, crafts and prizes will start today at 5:30 p.m.
“I just love the fact that it brings our church together, and it’s a night of fun, a night of fellowship, a night of good food,” said Kay Buckman, head of the event’s planning committee.
The men of FUMC have prepared chicken dinners. Each $7.50 plate comes with half a barbecued chicken, string beans and sweet-potato biscuits.
The plates will be sold from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., but Buckman recommended pre-ordering the meals by calling FUMC (946-3311) during business hours.
The Fall Fling will also have a silent auction, Christmas shop and “almost-new” shop. Starting at 6 p.m., babysitters will be available for infants and children of all ages.
“We’re going to be doing something different this year. It’s called Pick 3,” Buckman said.
Five dollars will buy three tickets. Use the tickets to enter one of five drawings for prizes that include a silver cross necklace from Stewart’s Jewelry Store, a Southern Tide shirt that can be exchanged for any size or color at Russell’s Gentlemen’s Clothing, a toy car, an American Girl doll or a figurine.
“It’s a little Christmas item, a family caroling, on a wooden base,” Buckman said. “It’s something I got off of QVC.”
Each set of tickets comes with a coupon book worth $5 off food at East Coast Wings & Grill.
There will be a small, live auction featuring a time-share in Myrtle Beach, a homemade table and a homemade rocker.
The big draw for the night will be a reverse auction. Tickets are $100 each.
“I know that sounds steep, but they go home with something really nice,” Buckman said.
Each person who participates in the reverse auction wins a prize. Those prizes include a lawn mower, a flat-screen television and a vacation on Ocracoke Island.
The fling continues Saturday morning with a food fair featuring fresh, homemade breads, pies, cakes and frozen casseroles. A $5 brown-bag lunch includes soup, pimiento cheese sandwich, chips and an apple.
While browsing through rows of jams and sweets, you can have your car washed. The Christmas shop and “almost-new” shop will also be open.
The Fall Fling is FUMC’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Buckman said the proceeds have bought church vans, paid for a new sound system, gone toward renovations and paid for countless church missions.
Buckman said the church started the fundraiser about 20 years ago.
“It was very, very small,” she recalled. “I had a vision about how we could make it grow and it’s gone very well. Everybody gives and that’s how we pull it together.”
Her favorite part of the event is the way it brings everyone together, each doing his or her part to make it a success.
“That’s always been my goal,” Buckman said. “God gives us everything, and what we give back shows how much we love him.”
First United Methodist Church is located at 304 W. Second St. in Washington.